Sudanese military captures presidential palace
RSF suffers crushing defeat in Khartoum
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) achieved another decisive victory on Friday morning, retaking the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum, delivering a significant and crushing defeat to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the renegade paramilitary group that has controlled the site since the start of the civil war.
Under relentless pressure from SAF, which deployed infantry, drones, and artillery, the RSF attempted to flee the palace late Wednesday night, but was decimated in the process, suffering heavy losses in both personnel and military assets.
The Sudanese military began its offensive to retake the presidential palace after breaking a two-year siege of its general headquarters in late January and gaining full control of the East Nile locality on March 7.
The first phase of the operation within Khartoum began on Sunday with efforts to isolate the RSF at the palace. Videos reviewed and geolocated by Sudan War Monitor showed SAF units from Al-Shajara attacking RSF elements attempting to cross into RSF-controlled areas of southern Khartoum, near the Grand Market. The footages highlighted the RSF’s growing encirclement in central Khartoum, setting the stage for the final assault today.
On Monday, units from the SAF’s armored corps successfully linked up with their counterparts at the general command, located east of the presidential palace, completing the encirclement of RSF fighters stationed at the palace and other key buildings in downtown Khartoum.
As the noose tightened, the RSF attempted to flee the palace and surrounding areas on Wednesday night, but their escape was thwarted as they were decimated by SAF’s relentless assault. The SAF operation to prevent RSF escape from the presidential palace led to the destruction of dozens of RSF vehicles and the deaths of many fighters along Al-Qasr Avenue as they tried to break free from the encirclement.
By Thursday afternoon, SAF units from the general command captured key sites such as the Sudanese Kuwaiti centre building and the Mek Nimr Bridge, both located a few hundreds meters to the east of the presidential palace, making the capture of the presidential palace more imminent.
Videos geolocated by Sudan War Monitor to the presidential palace show SAF soldiers celebrating their victory. They pose outside the building, holding Sudanese flags, rifles and flashing victory signs, surrounded by debris and shattered windows – the result of two years of brutal fighting. The soldiers’ expressions, a mix of pride and defiance, highlight the significance of this operation in the broader context of the ongoing war.
One of the videos is a radio communication filmed from the Sudanese army’s command-and-control room at the General Command, declaring to army units and commanders the full control over the presidential palace.
Army statement
In a subsequent video statement, army spokesman Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdallah claimed the complete destruction of RSF forces in downtown Khartoum, including the Grand Market and the presidential palace, and the seizure of significant amounts of RSF weaponry.
The statement reiterated the military’s commitment to continue the fight and portrayed the victory as a decisive step toward restoring control over the capital and purging the country of what the army refers to as “the filth of the militia and its allies.”
“In an immortal heroic battle, our forces today crowned their successes in the Khartoum fronts, where they managed to crush the remnants of the Al-Daglo militia terrorists in central Khartoum, the Arab Market, the Presidential Palace (a symbol of the sovereignty and dignity of the Sudanese nation), and the ministries. Thanks to Allah’s help and guidance, our forces completely destroyed the enemy’s personnel and equipment and seized large quantities of their weapons and gear in the mentioned areas. We dedicate these victories to our patient people and confirm that we will continue advancing on all battlefronts until victory is achieved by purging every inch of our land from the filth of the militia and its allies,” he said.
The presidential palace had been one of the RSF's most fortified positions, essential to both their symbolic and operational hold over the capital and the central Sudanese region. The fall of the palace now signals the near-collapse of RSF presence, not only in Khartoum, but also in the entire region.
Over the past months, SAF forces have retaken positions controlled by the RSF, conducting coordinated offensives to systematically neutralize their forces in several strategic districts of the capital region.
A significant breakthrough occurred on January 24, when SAF forces linked their units in northern Bahri with those in the south, partially breaking the siege on their headquarters. By late February and early March, SAF had seized full control of the Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, and East Nile localities, effectively ending RSF presence in the regions to the North and East of the Blue Nile River. These gains paved the way for the final assault on RSF positions in the capital.
Despite enduring successive critical losses, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as “Hemedti,” vowed on Saturday to continue the fight. He attacked army generals and promised victory for his forces by the 17th of Ramadan, a day that coincides with the historic Battle of Badr in Islamic history.
Across SAF-controlled territories, videos emerged showing soldiers and supporters celebrating the SAF's capture of the palace, while sporadic gunfire was heard in Omdurman, Bahri, East Nile, and other major cities.
The battle for Khartoum will now shift to RSF-controlled areas in southern neighborhoods like Gabra, Soba, and Jebel Awlia, where the RSF has limited defensive capabilities. It is unlikely that the RSF will maintain control over these areas without substantial reinforcements.
However, the only remaining supply route for the RSF into Khartoum, the Jebel Awlia Dam bridge, is a single-lane crossing, making large-scale immediate reinforcements unlikely. Recent RSF withdrawals toward Darfur suggest a strategic retreat, signaling a shift to an insurgency-style campaign in the desert regions, where the RSF holds stronger local support.
Strategic and diplomatic implications
The fall of the presidential palace today represents both a tactical and symbolic victory for the Sudanese army, reasserting its legitimacy in the capital and marks a decisive turning point in the conflict.
It accelerates the RSF’s decline in Khartoum and solidifies the imminent Sudanese army’s undisputed control over the entire capital region. The palace, a long-standing symbol of Sudanese governance, had been a target for the RSF, which sought to rival the army’s legitimacy by controlling it.
The RSF at the start of the war took control of high-profile urban installations, such as the presidential palace, Khartoum International Airport, and state broadcaster headquarters in Omdurman, but failed to translate these controls into a decisive coup, leaving the RSF’s hold on power fragile.
Fears of international non-recognition – similar to the Houthis’ takeover of Sanaa, Yemen, in 2014 – prevented an official declaration of power, leaving RSF dependent on advocation for civilian partnerships to establish political legitimacy.
Both parties have committed atrocities throughout the conflict, but the RSF’s worsening human rights record – marked by mass killings in Al Jazira and the 2023 Masalit genocide in Darfur, similar to its actions during the 2003-2020 Darfur genocide – has been particularly egregious. These acts are seen as far more severe than the SAF’s atrocities.
The perception that the RSF is less organized and its control over the country would lead to the complete collapse of the Sudanese state has further tarnished its international standing. The U.S. designated the RSF's actions as genocide in January and imposed sanctions on Hemedti and his brothers, Abdelrahim, and Al-Goney Hamdan Daglo, both are senior members of the group.
The military junta, which has been operating from Port Sudan since the start of the conflict, will now likely move back to Khartoum, once the RSF is cleared from areas it still controls in the south of the city. However, Khartoum will require significant reconstruction efforts before government activities can fully resume there.
Related coverage
Videos
In the video below, Sudanese army elements are seen inside the presidential palace on Friday, March 21, 2025.
In the video below filmed at the command-and-control room at the army headquarters in Khartoum on Thursday, a SAF officer makes a radio communication announcing the army control over the presidential palace.
In the video below, SAF soldiers film the bodies of dead RSF soldiers, with blood visible in large quantities on the ground. The footage was recorded on Wednesday morning, following the RSF's attempt to break out of the besieged palace.
Photos
The scenes of destruction at the presidential palace depict the devastating impact of the ongoing conflict. The once-symbolic heart of Sudanese governance now lies in ruins, with shattered windows, and debris scattered throughout the compound.
